Tri-County League's championship series is on deck

Dave Roback / The RepublicanWilbraham Funeral Home's Andrew Fatse, left, and DiFranco Realty's Josh Blair will meet again Tuesday in Game 1 of the Tri-County League Championship series in Wilbraham.

WILBRAHAM – As player-manager Kevin Farrell of the Wilbraham Funeral Home baseball team sees it, the Tri-County League finals “will be a great series.”

This showcase for local adult baseball starts Tuesday at 5:45 p.m. on a field named for Kevin’s late father, Mike Farrell.

It matches Wilbraham’s defending Tri-County champions against DiFranco Realty of East Longmeadow, winner of the regular-season pennant.

Their series will wrap up the Tri-County’s 63rd season. It’s the longest-running league in local baseball.

Because of its No. 1 seeding, the DiFranco team should be hosting the opener in this best-of-three championship set. However, with its home field unavailable Tuesday night, DiFranco solved the problem by agreeing to open on the road in return for having the next two games (Game 3, if necessary) on its home field at East Longmeadow High School.

The DiFranco entry, coached by Bill Bathel, played consistently well all season, posting a 19-3 record to win a close race with Peoples Bank of Holyoke and Wilbraham Funeral Home.

In the playoffs, DiFranco was surprised by Easthampton Savings Bank, which took the quarterfinal opener 5-3. After that, though, DiFranco has won four in a row, eliminating Easthampton 7-3 and 6-0, then sweeping Manny’s TV and Appliances 8-6 and 12-1 in the semifinals.

Wilbraham dominated its quarterfinal series with St. Joseph’s of Thorndike, winning 14-3 and 8-2. In the semifinal round against a tough Peoples Bank foe, Wilbraham won 10-9, lost 12-4 then grabbed the decisive third game 5-0 behind the clutch pitching of former Cathedral High School star Matt O’Herron.

The Wilbraham team has outscored its playoff foes 41-26. DiFranco has been tighter defensively, outscoring its postseason opposition 36-15.

Two former Western New England University teammates, Jason LeClerc and Andrew Fatse, will go against each other in the finals.

LeClerc is a catcher on the DiFranco roster. Fatse is a rock-solid offensive player for Wilbraham. He has 13 RBIs in the playoffs after hitting .509 in the regular season.

“Rain is the major issue facing us in the playoffs,” Farrell said. “We can only hope that we can get this series over without interruption, because if we have to go to Friday, some players may not be available because of vacation plans.”

Farrell said he talked with DiFranco manager Bathel on Sunday evening, in advance of their matchup in the finals.

“Both sides have a lot of respect for each other. It should be a great series between solid teams. I’m really looking forward to it,” Farrell said.